Computing and recording machine



June 1 1926. v 11,587,304

7 F. A. HART COMPUTING AND RECORDING MACHINE Filed July 1, 1925 WITNESSES IN 'EN TOR.

5,; 4 v I Mad/5%- ATTORNEY Patented June 1, 1926.

UNITED STATES rnnnnmcx A, mm, or NEW nnrrnm, connnc'rrcv'r, assienon'ro numeron nc-- PATENT orrics.

COUNTING MACHINE CORPORATION, DI NEW YORK, N. Y., A GORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

COMPUTING. AND RECORDING MACHINE.

Application filed July 1,

This invention relates to combined typewriting and computing machines of that kind in which numberswrittenby the numeral keys of a typewriting machine may be automatically added or subtracted by the computing mechanism, and in which provision is made for writing said numbers in either one of two colors. In machines of .the kind mentioned there have heretofore been provided connections between the bicolor mech anism and the add-subtract mechanism of such character that while the computing mechanism was set for adding, numbers would be written in one color, and. when the mechanism was set for subtraction, the color of the printing would be changed.

By the present invention means are provided whereby added numbers will normally be written in one color and subtracted numbers in another, but the color of the printing can be changed independently of the addsubtract mechanism. ,When, however, said add-subtract mechanism is operated to change from one arithmetical operation to another, the color mechanism will be restored to its normal relation to the add-subtract mechanism. For example, if the computing mechanism is set for additlon, the color pr ribbon mechanism is normally set to print in; black but may be set by hand to print in. If now the computing mechanism be set for subtraction, the printing will 'still be in redbut as soon as the computing mechanism is restored to addition, the ribbon mechanism will automatically change back to black.

One form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lris an isometric view of mechanism oontainingthe invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of a part of the same.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. Figure. 4 is a front elevation with part of the mechanism sectioned away.

- Figure 5 is a vertical section taken centrally of the ribbon controlling rock shaft..-

Fi re 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showlng amodified form ofthe invention.

The invention is shown applied to the well-known Remington bookkeeping machine. Themechanism of this machine is described in the United States patent to 1925. Serial No. 40,841.

lrVahl No. 1,270,471, dated June 25, 1918. This machine consists of :1 Remington typewriter with theWahl computin mechanism attached thereto and operate under the control of the typewriter carriage. and numeral keys.

1 is the base casting and 2 the left-hand front post of a Remin this post is secured a s eet metal bracket 3 in which is journaled the front end of a ribbon-controllin device consisting of 1 a rockshaft 4 which at its rear end has an arm 5 connected by a link 6 with the ribbon vibrator mechanism of the ty writer, the construction bein such that w en the parts stand in the POSltIOII ShOWD in the drawings the machine is set to write from the upper or black stripe of the ribbon (not shown) and when the shaft is rocked counter-clockwise the machinewill be set for writing from the lower or red stripe of the ribbon in the atent to John H. Barr No. 1,153,668, dated eptember 14, 1915.

he Wahl computing mechanism is wellknown in the art, havi been sold and used in all partsof the wor d for a number of years. It com rises among other things a vertical totahzer which travels ri ht and left with the typewriter carriage an whose register wheels one at a time engage a master wheel -7 mounted on a shaft 8 Slidably mounted on the same shaft is a pinion 10 which has a s line connection 11 with the master wheel Pinion 10 meshes with a subtract pinion 12 loosely mounted on a shaft 13 between two collars 14 and 15 fixed on said shaft. '16 represents a stationary stud having a ivot pin 17 on which is n typewriter. To

in the opposite direction. A gear segment 1 (not shown) is adapted to operate in a plane just to the right of the right-hand face of the pinion 10, as said pinion stands in Fig. 1. .In said ure the subtract pinion 12 projects into t e plane of said segment and would therefore be operated by the segment with the result that the master wheel 7 would be turned in the direction for subtraction. If the shaft 13 be slid toward the left, causing the pinion 10 to move toward the right, then the pinion 12 would be drawn out of the plane of said segment and the pinion 1O moved into said plane, and the machine would be set for addition.

The shaft 13 is moved by an arm 18 to which it is pivoted, said arm fixed on a rock shaft 20, which has also an arm 21 carrying a pin 22 which works in a cam slot 23 in a floating lever 24. Said cam slot is of inverted V-shape and the in is shown in one of the lower portions of the slot, thus causing the shaft 13 to occupy its righthand or subtracting position. If the lever 24 be rocked so as to bring the pin 22 in the high part of the slot 23, then arm 21 would be rocked upward and the machine be set for addition. The floating lever 24 has two pivot pins 25 and 26, the first passing through a double link 27, and the second connected to a link 28. represents a stationary frame plate having in it two horizontal slots in which the pins 25 and 26 play so that though each of these pins can move right and left, they cannot 'move up and down.

The link 28 is pivoted to a bell crank 31 which by a link 32 is connected with a hand lever or key 33 which is pivoted at 34 to a stationary framework. This hand lever is shown in its lowermost position where in the machine it is retained by a notched escutcheon plate and where it sets the master'wheel 7 for subtraction. If it were raised to its upper position it would set the mechanism for addition, and that is its usual position.

When this lever is moved the floating lever 24 rocks about the pin 25 as a pivot.

The double link 27 is pivoted to a'bell crank 35 which by link 36 is connected with a key lever 37 which is pivoted at 38. The double link 27 is held in its left-hand position and the key 37 in its elevated position as shown in the drawing, by a spring not shown. If this key be depressed it will move the link 27 toward the right, swinging lever 24 a distance equal to half the length of the slot 23, with the result that it will reverse the change gear mechanism whether the latter has been set by the key 33 for subtraction as shown in the drawing, or whether it has been set by said key 33 for addition. This key 37 is therefore a reversing key, its principal function being that of making corrections. When this key is depressed, it must be held down as long as it is desired to use it, and it is returned to normal by said spring when the finger pressure is removed.

This key can also be operated by another device which is adapted to be locked down and which, therefore, can be used for a reversing key for other purposes than making corrections. Key lever 37 is prolonged rearward beyond the link 36 and it has a pin adapted to play in a vertical slot in a link 40 which at its lower end is pivoted to an arm 41 of a lever which is pivoted on the ribbon rock shaft 4. This lever has a leftward arm 42 on which, by a pivot pin 43, is pivoted a three-armed sheet metal device 44, the left-hand arm of which carries a subtraction or reversing key 45, the right-hand arm of which carries a release key 46, and the lower arm 47 of 'which constitutes a latch. This arm has in it a curved slot 48 with an offset in one end thereof, said slot embracing a pin 50 projecting from the bracket 3.

If the key 37 be de ressed, the pin in its rear end will move i ly in the slot in the upper end of the link 40, so that the lever 41, 42 will not be disturbed. If, however, the key be depressed, said link 40 will push up the rear end of the key lever 37 and reverse the computing mechanism. As the key 45 goes down the slot 48 will slide over the pin until the offset at the upper end of said slot reaches said pin, when the pressure of the finger will rock the piece 44 about its pivot and cause said offset to come into latching engagement with the pin 50 and retain the parts in their depressed position. \Vhen it is desired to restore this reversing key 45 to normal, a tap on the releasing key 46 will rock the piece 44, 47, so as to release it from the pin 50, whereupon the mechanism will be returned to its normal position by its spring. The mechanism thus far described is embodied in Remington bookkeeping machines already on the market.

According to the present invention, just in front of the level 41, 42 the rock shaft 4 has a hub 51 rigidly secured thereon by a set screw.52, said hub being provided with wings or arms The hub 51 base hole drilled in it parallel with the shaft 4, and in said hole is a compression spring 54 and a ball 55, said spring ressing said ball against the front face of the lever 41, 42. Said front face has in it two conical depressions 56, the ball 55 normally occupying the lower one.- This spring pressed ball and conical depression constitute a connection between the lever 41 and the hub 51 in the nature of a yielding detent suflicient to rock the shaft 4 whenever the reversing lever 41 is rocked. The result is that when the lever 41 occupies the position shown in the drawing, in other words, whenever the reversing key 45 is inits upper position, the ribbon mechanism is normally set to print in black, whereas when the key 45 is depressed the ribbon mechanism is shifted to print in red. The spring pressed ball, however, can yield to any considerable pressure so that even when the key 45 is in its elevated position, the shaft 4 can be rocked by tapping the lower wing 53 toward the right and thus set the machine to write in red, notwithstanding the reverse mecharibbon mechanism can be set back to black by a tap toward the right on the upper wing 53, if desired. If, however, it has been set for red, then the first time the key 45 is depressed, the ball 55 will automatically be moved back into the lower hole 56, which is its normal position. This is due to the provision ofmeans whereby the rocking of the shaft 4 is limited. In the present instance a casing piece 57 is utilized for this purpose, said piece having, just to the right of the hub 51, an outstanding flange 58 which is adapted to limit the rocking of the wings 53. If said wings be rocked by hand counter-clockwise in Fig. 2, the lower wing will almost touch this flange 58. It, now, the key 45 be depressed, the wing can turn no further and the ball 55 will be forced out of the upper hole 56 and will drop into the lower hole. hen the reversing lever is restored to its normal position it will carry the part 51, 53 back to its normal position shown in Fig. 2.

In some instances it is not desired that the reverse operation be possible, namely, to set the machine to write in black when the key 45 is depressed, and the mechanism shown in all of the figures of the drawing except- Fig, 6 is adapted for this use. In said mechanism the hubof the lever 41, 42 has a slot 60 cut in its rear face and a pin 61 projects from the shaft 4 into said slot.

The pin is smaller than the slot and allows a degree of independent operation equal to theangular distance from one of the holes 56 to the other. The pin is here shown nor mally contacting with the right-hand wall of the slot, which has the effect above referred to, of making. impossible the writing of black when the key 45 is set for subtraction. If the pin normally occupied the other side of the slot, it would havethe reverse effect, that is, it would allow the writing of subtracted numbers in black but would not allow the writing of added numbers in red.

According to the modification shown in Fig. 6, the slot 60 and pin 61 are omitted and a thirdlrole 56 is put in the hub of the lever 41, 42 below the other two. With this construction the ball 55 normall occupies the middle hole 56 but it can be orced into either of the other two. Normally, therefore, the machine will write black when the key 45 is up, and red when the key is down, but the ribbon can be changed from normal in either position. In any such change, however. the first operation. of the lever 41, 42 will restore the ball to its normal position in the middle hole 56. V

' It will be seen, therefore, that normally the ribbon shift is changed whenever the reversing device 41,42 is operated, one color v means norma of printing normally corresponding to one position of said lever and another color normally corresponding to another position that the color can be changed from its normal relation; but that the first operation of said reversing lever brings the ribbon automatically back into its normal relation to said reversing lever.

62 represents a pin projecting from the bracket 3, and 63 a lug on the lever arm 42 for limiting the upward motion of said lever arm.

It will be understood that the invention is applicable or readily adaptable to various types of computing and recording machines in which the computing mechanism and the color mechanism may each be of a construction differing considerably from those shown int he drawing; that the invention is equally applicable to other changes of state than that from addition to subtraction; and that various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement without departing from the invention.

What Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a computing and recording machine,

the combination with computing mechanism adapted to be set for different arithmetical be set for printing in difi'erent colors, of a yielding connection, between the two mechanisms suflicient to cause a setting of one of said mechanisms to set the other mechanism but yielding to pressure so as to permit said other mechanism to be set without setting the first one of said mechanisms.

2. In a computing machine comprising the combination with computing mechanism, means for setting said computing mechanism for addition and subtraction, color controlling mechanism shiftable for one color and another, of a connection between said setting means and said shiftable means adapted to shift said color changing means in harmony with the setting of said computing mechanism, but said connection adapted to yield to pressure so as to allow the color controlling means to be independently shifted. 3. In a computing and recording machine, the combination with computing mechanism, means for changing the state of said computing mechanism, and means for changing the color of the printing, of a connection whereby an o eration of said state changing Ily' operates said color'changing means to cause the printing in each instance to be in a color corresponding to the state of the computing mechanism but permitting said color changing means to be operated independently to print in an abnormal color, the combination including means whereby after such an abnormal setting an operation of said state changing:

means will restore the connection between the state changing and color changing means to normal relation.

4. In a computing and recording machine, the combination with computing mechanism, a state controlling device having a to. and fro motion to set said computing mechanism for different states, and a color changing device having a to and fro motion to change the color of the printing, of a connection between said state controlling device and ,said color changing device Whereby the former operates the latter, said connection establishing a normal relation between the two devices such that normally when the computing mechanism is in one state the printing will be in one color and when the computing mechanism is in another state the printing will be in another color, said connection yieldable so that the color changing device can be set to an ab normal relation; and means for limiting the motion of said color changing device whereby an operation of said state changing device will restore the connection between the two devices to normal relation.

5. In a computing and recording machine, the combination of computing mechanism, meansincluding a lever for ,changing the state of said computing mechanism, means including a rocking device concentrio with said lever for changing the color of the printing, a connection between said lever and said rocking device adapted to maintain a normal relation between the two, but such that said rocking device can be rocked independently of said lever into an tion between said lever and said rock shaft having a normal point of connection such that normally the color of the printing indicates the state of the computing mechanism but said rock shaft operable independently of said lever to disarrange the normal relation, and means for limiting the motion of said rock shaft whereby an operation of said lever will restore said connections to reestablish such normal relation.

7. In a computing and recording machine, the combination with a to and fro moving device for changing the state of the computing mechanism, a to and fro moving device for changing the color of the printing, a connection between the two said devices adapted normally to cause the color of the printing to indicate the setting of the state changing device but capable of allowing an abnormal setting of said color changing device relative to said state changing device in one direction but not in the other.

Signed at the borough of Manhattan, cit of New York, in the county of New Yorl c and State of New York, this 30th day of June, A. D. 1925.

FREDERICK A. HART. 

